INCOMPETENT THIEF
One of the childhood bliss is to steal fruits from someone’s garden. We, the group of some carefree village boys were no exception. Thankfully our adventure was limited to our village boundary and that too as kids of 6 to 8 age group. Sometimes we stole from each others trees.
Our activities were also limited to summer afternoons when schools were closed and village elders were having siesta. It was a perfect time to steal ripe mangoes, bananas, papayas, and cucumbers from the fields. We were good at climbing the mangoes trees. For plucking the bananas and papayas we used bamboo poles. Pinching the cucumbers was no big job nor a big deal and as such, probably, was assigned to me, the youngest member of the group of thieves.
Usually we would target the kill the previous evening. On that fateful day we could not find any venerable target but as the saying goes “chor chori se jayega, hera pheri se nahi jayega’ (a thief may abandon stealing but he cannot stop eyeing here and there). So the group was out at appointed time to make the kill.
Since no mangoes, bananas or papayas were in sight that day , I was asked to pluck some cucumber from a nearby field. I did so dutifully. Above all I have been enjoying the fruits of their labor for long and today was the payback time. I stealthily entered the closely field and plucked some cucumbers, in fact more than required, and joined the group back.
I thought they will pride me with my courage and cleverness but it turned out to be anti climax. They refused to eat the cucumbers. Worse, they threatened that they would tell the owner and get me reprimanded. I could not trust my ears. I pleaded with them but they would not budge an inch. I tried to win them individually but they had decided to be united on this issue. Tears flowing down my eyes, I sobbed and sobbed but they did not relent.
I thought maybe I should do something better. I went in our kitchen. Prepared some green chilly chutney as fast and as best I could and returned with a knife to help them relish the sweet, green, fresh, juicy, seedless and FREE cucumbers with tasty chutney. Tears still flowing down my chheks, I again, as a last resort threatened them to spill the beans of our past thefts. I pleaded with the Gods I knew.
It was now time to call it a day before the elders came out and caught us in our hiding place. WITH A HEARTY LAUGH AND MOCKING STYLE THEY AGREED TO OBLIGE. THANK GOD I WAS SPARED TO TURN OUT TO BE A REGULAR THIEF.
One of the childhood bliss is to steal fruits from someone’s garden. We, the group of some carefree village boys were no exception. Thankfully our adventure was limited to our village boundary and that too as kids of 6 to 8 age group. Sometimes we stole from each others trees.
Our activities were also limited to summer afternoons when schools were closed and village elders were having siesta. It was a perfect time to steal ripe mangoes, bananas, papayas, and cucumbers from the fields. We were good at climbing the mangoes trees. For plucking the bananas and papayas we used bamboo poles. Pinching the cucumbers was no big job nor a big deal and as such, probably, was assigned to me, the youngest member of the group of thieves.
Usually we would target the kill the previous evening. On that fateful day we could not find any venerable target but as the saying goes “chor chori se jayega, hera pheri se nahi jayega’ (a thief may abandon stealing but he cannot stop eyeing here and there). So the group was out at appointed time to make the kill.
Since no mangoes, bananas or papayas were in sight that day , I was asked to pluck some cucumber from a nearby field. I did so dutifully. Above all I have been enjoying the fruits of their labor for long and today was the payback time. I stealthily entered the closely field and plucked some cucumbers, in fact more than required, and joined the group back.
I thought they will pride me with my courage and cleverness but it turned out to be anti climax. They refused to eat the cucumbers. Worse, they threatened that they would tell the owner and get me reprimanded. I could not trust my ears. I pleaded with them but they would not budge an inch. I tried to win them individually but they had decided to be united on this issue. Tears flowing down my eyes, I sobbed and sobbed but they did not relent.
I thought maybe I should do something better. I went in our kitchen. Prepared some green chilly chutney as fast and as best I could and returned with a knife to help them relish the sweet, green, fresh, juicy, seedless and FREE cucumbers with tasty chutney. Tears still flowing down my chheks, I again, as a last resort threatened them to spill the beans of our past thefts. I pleaded with the Gods I knew.
It was now time to call it a day before the elders came out and caught us in our hiding place. WITH A HEARTY LAUGH AND MOCKING STYLE THEY AGREED TO OBLIGE. THANK GOD I WAS SPARED TO TURN OUT TO BE A REGULAR THIEF.
